Little House on the Prairie
was a 19th century America-based family drama that ran
from 1974 to 1984 on NBC. The show was based on a group
of autobiographical books written by Laura Ingalls
Wilder and published between 1932 and 1943. The books
were about Wilderís life on the prairie in the late 19th
century. The main characters of the show were Michael
Landon as Charles Ingalls, Karen Grassle as Caroline
Ingalls, Melissa Gilbert as Laura Ingalls Wilder, and
Melissa Sue Anderson as Mary Ingalls. There were a
number of made-for-TV movies based on the show that were
released in the mid 80ís, as well as a spin-off show
titled Little House: A New Beginning.

The
series did follow the books directly in content, but did
follow the books in spirit and tone. Charles (Landon)
was the farming patriarch of the Ingalls family,
Caroline (Grassle) the homemaking mother, and then three
girls, with the eldest two being Mary (Anderson) and
Laura (Gilbert). The episodes revolved around the tough
life of trying to make a living out west and the
interactions between the Ingalls and the other
townsfolk. To illustrate, one episode would have been
about the family coping with the financial loss of
weather-damaged crops, and another episode about a crush
Laura has on a schoolmate.

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